Modern wireless communication protocols may use multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) transmission schemes when transferring communications to wireless communication devices. MIMO uses multiple antennas for each carrier in a wireless access node in order to improve communication transfer performance. The improvements in communication transfer performance may include increased wireless range and data throughput. Some examples of MIMO wireless protocols include Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the latest 802.11n wireless protocols (Wi-Fi).
In some cases, a wireless access node may use various transmit and receive diversity configurations by varying the number of antennas and carriers utilized by the wireless access node in order to either increase capacity or increase data throughput. For example, a wireless access node may utilize all of its antennas with a single carrier to maximize data transmission rates. Alternatively, the wireless access node may split the antennas among two carriers in order to increase capacity at the expense of data throughput. In this second arrangement, the wireless access node transmits communications to one set of wireless communication devices using one carrier while simultaneously transmitting communications to another set of devices using another carrier. However, data transmission rates are typically lower in this second arrangement because fewer antennas are used for transmitting communications to each of the wireless communication devices.